First of the season!

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New things......

I don't really get excited about too much.  I tried to convince myself and my wife that I was really into astronomy a few years back and Needed a super bad telescope.  Then it moved onto a PS3.  Both of which I have the unfortunate truth of saying that I have the attention span of an eight year old on their best of days.  However, and in the realest sense, this curse is selective at best.  There are those things and events that hold, captivate, and steal my attention as well as my soul at times.

Off the top of my head I'll say Top Chef, my wife, tacos, Umphrees McGee, my yard, my new bamboo streamer, Saveur, my wife, my somewhat stressful job, and my soon to be new knife. 

I have been on the hunt for years internally but about a month or so real time.  It has been 3 years I think since my last new knife and a world away.  I can count the number of chef coats and Birks I have gone through and all were the same.  But this knife had to mean something different for me.  It was a change of thought or symbolic some way.  I have always used Wustof.  My baby is a 6 inch white handled beauty.  Sure I have to switch to a 8 inch for fish or meat butchering or a 5 inch utility for cleaning poultry or pork but I love that knife.

I knocked the tip off, corrected, the tile floor knocked it off after the 20th leap off a table.  I was sad for a while.  Now I am excited.  Brennan and I talked knives a bit and I decided on Horimoto.  It's like welcoming a new member of the family.  Not sure you trust them, having to prove their worth but exciting non the less.  Hope I like it.  Hope all who read are still doing well.  Paella this weekend.  My take anyways.  Dreaded paella.  Until the next and welcome back into town Mr. Pyk......

Broken Veal T-Bone, Potato Ravioli, Heirloom Salad, Maderia

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chalkboard specials...

So I planned on writing about weekly specials.  Just a simple shout out of what was good in my mind by friday of each week.  This past weekend was a dish of braised short rib, farro, grilled beets, chipotle, and espresso demi glace.  It worked great.  Sorry but no pics of it.  Dinner tonight @ home was all about Asia and chilies.  Lumpia, fresh spring rolls, pork laab salad, and Chinese sausage shu mai.  A good long dim sum kinda meal over many hours and a good movie then Top Chef.  The pic is some beautiful Thai chilies from a local market.  Marinated in fish sauce, lime, and vinegar, they make me weep with joyful heat.  Till next time...

New Beginnings

Okay, let me get the past two months out of the way. Cooking in Charleston was a great experience and working for Kiawah Island Golf Resort did a lot for me as a chef, but I guess it wasn't where I really needed to be. Around mid October I started looking for a new gig mainly in the southeast. I did multiple interviews, a couple of tastings, and even worked with a couple of recruiters. It was a slow process and sadly at the end of December I was let go from Kiawah and began two month stint of unemployment which obviously invigorated my job search. It was good in the sense that I had many issues with the leadership of the outlet I was working in and I was able to get that monkey off my back. It was around this time that I started really feeling the need to be closer to Brennan and Mike and that's when I decided to get in contact with Chef Dale Ford at Amelia Island Plantation which was recently bought by Omni Hotels. It took some time but finally they were able to open the right position for me. I am now the supervisor of The Ocean Grill, the fine dining outlet on the Plantation. I'm working with a young and talented group of chefs and the best part.......lil bro is working in the next building right across from the hotel and mike is a quick 40 min trip south. This makes it a lot easier for us to collaborate and we are currently planning our first dinner with all three of us cooking, its gonna be epic!

So, now that we've had the cliff notes of the past two months lets get down to whats going on with Foodbros. All three of us have been pretty vocal lately about the losses we have suffered over the past 5 months and I think its time for us to put those things behind us and look towards the future. We started this blog not only to showcase what we do, but to also challenge ourselves and maybe share a story or a laugh along the way and its time we got back to doing just that.

I feel that my skillset is going to be put to good use at The Ocean grill, the dish up top is a pork rib tortellini I did last night with jus and dijon cream. A beautiful piece of Red Snapper went over the haricot vert but I was snapping a lot of pics and got distracted doing preservice before I got the last pic. Fresh pasta is something that belongs in great kitchens and I don't think I would have nurtured that technique if I hadn't gone to Charleston. I've got so many ideas right out of the gate I kind of had to have Brennan slow me down a little bit. I'll be posting more about the kitchen, the dining room and the staff in the near future so please stay tuned.

The last thing I want to say is that I kind of think the blog itself has gone through somewhat of an identity crisis. I wanted it to look impressive and professional but, I'm thinking it might be time to strip it down some and try to reinvent. Mike and Brennan echoed this sentiment Sunday night. Its just a little over a year old and to be honest we don't need the bells and whistles. Not to say we wont change the look in the future but for now......the food and the words will be the ones making the impressions.

Latest Deep Plate Dish

"Black and Blue" Beef tartare with blue cheese ice cream, butter lettuce and rye croutons